Malaymas

320 St Georges Rd 

Fitzroy North, VIC 3068

Allow me to be a bit gross for a moment. Although my wisdom teeth came out without a hitch, I am left with stitches in the bottom half of my mouth, and an empty tooth socket in the top half. Though I only got the right side taken out and will have to go back later down the track to get the left ones taken out, I do get to enjoy the perks of having solids just a day after my operation. I found out soon enough however that rice gets stuck in tooth sockets awfully easily, and this meal at Malaymas cemented that unfortunate fact.

Anyway, enough whinging about my tooth sockets. Having made the initial stages of my recovery very quickly, I met up with Ethan for a long overdue dinner. I’m pretty picky when it comes to Malaysian food, having eaten my way around Malaysia, and lived in the Asian side of Melbourne for half my life. I was a little sceptical regarding the ravings about Malaymas but hey, what’s life without a bit of hope?

Hainanese Chicken Rice ($11.9)

Having only just moved off semi-solids (chunky soups, overcooked pasta), I was keen to get a good bit of protein in me with Hainanese Chicken Rice ($11.9). And it was just my luck that the chicken was pale and silken, poached to tender perfection and resting in sesame soy, accompanied by excellent ginger-chilli sauce. The rice was rather dry and sparingly flavoured, but the chicken soup was packed full of umami, and less MSG than one would expect, especially of a soup this tasty. 

Fried Kueh Teow ($11.9)

I wouldn’t claim this very often at all, but I consider myself a connoisseur of Fried Kueh Teow ($11.9). After all, it is my all-time favourite Malaysian dish. This one ranked only slightly above average. Though tasty and well-seasoned, the noodles were half-hearted in their caramelisation, and were missing the crucial ingredients of Chinese sausage and cockles – the crux of the flavours in the dish. 

Ice Kacang ($6.5)

No beating around the bush here – the Ice Kacang ($6.5) was bloody delicious. Drizzled with an irresistible mixture of rose syrup and sweet-yet-salty palm sugar, the dessert was made better by the generous scattering of crushed peanuts and sweet corn. And the hidden bounty of beans, grass jelly, and agar under the sweet ice crystals tipped us over into sheer ecstasy.

You know why I think Malaymas is so popular? Because it’s a decent Malaysian restaurant in a part of town that has little to no Malaysian food. Speaking from the eastern suburbs however, I found everything a bit pricey; I’m used to bigger portions for a similar price, or the same portion for several dollars less. The food as a whole was good but not remarkable; however the ice kacang was every bit as good as what south-east Asia has to offer. Worth crossing town for? I would say so.

Rating: 13/20 – ice KACHING!

This rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit.